JP5915926B2 - Developing apparatus, process cartridge and image forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing device that uses a two-component developer including toner and a carrier, a process cartridge including the developing device, and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine.

In a developing device using a two-component developer containing a toner and a carrier, it is necessary to block the developer from outside air when the developing device is shipped and transported. The reason is that the toner component in the developer may be deteriorated in performance due to contact with the outside air, and the developer may flow out of the developing device due to vibration during transportation of the developing device. For this reason, the developing device is often assembled at the factory in a state where the two-component developer is hermetically sealed in advance (hereinafter referred to as “preset”), and is shipped in a state where it is set in the image forming apparatus main body. After the user receives the image forming apparatus as a product, the user removes the seal member for sealing the developer attached to the developing device, and starts using it so that the developing operation is possible.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a developer is provided in a developer that includes an opening that is exposed so that the developer carrier is opposed to the image carrier, and in which the developer carrier and the developer transport member are disposed. A developing device for pre-enclosing has been proposed. In this developing device, a seal member is provided between the developer carrier and the developer transport member in order to seal the opening of the developing device. The developer in the developing device can be supplied to the developer carrying member by the developer conveying member by pulling out the seal member in parallel with the rotation axis of the developer conveying member or the like.

  In this developing device, the developer conveying path disposed opposite to the developer carrying member serves both as an action of supplying the developer to the developer carrying member and a function of collecting the developer from the developer carrying member. It is of the supply and recovery integrated system. The developer in the developer transport path is once supplied to the developer carrying member, and the developer that has consumed toner by image formation returns to the developer transport path again and is used for image formation. It repeats continuously in the axial direction in the agent transport path. For this reason, there is a drawback that the toner amount contained in the developer carried on the developer carrying body gradually decreases in the axial direction, that is, a difference in image density tends to occur at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the image.

  In contrast, both the developer supply transport path for supplying the developer to the developer carrying body and the developer recovery transport path for collecting the developer from the developer carrying body are disposed opposite to the developer carrying body. There are also known feed recovery separation systems. The developer in the developer supply / conveyance path is supplied to the developer carrier, and the developer whose toner has been consumed in the development area is recovered as it is in the developer recovery / conveyance path, and then developed again after new toner is replenished. The operation of returning to the developer supply conveyance path and supplying the developer to the developer carrying member is repeated. Therefore, the supply / recovery separation type developing device is unlikely to cause an image density difference at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the image, unlike the supply / recovery integrated type developing device.

  However, it is difficult for the developing device of the supply / recovery separation type to enclose and seal the developer in the developing device in advance at the time of presetting as compared with the developing device of the supply / recovery integrated type. This is due to the following reason. That is, in the supply / collection-integrated developing device, the path connecting the developer transport path in which the initial developer is stored and the outside of the developing apparatus is for supplying the developer in the developer transport path to the developer carrying member. It is only a route through the opening. Therefore, only the opening may be sealed by the seal member. On the other hand, in the developing device of the supply / recovery separation type, not only the path through the supply opening for supplying the developer in the developer supply conveyance path to the developer carrier, but also the development from the developer carrier. There are two locations on the path through the recovery opening for recovering the spent developer into the developer recovery transport path. Therefore, in the case of the supply / recovery separation method, it is necessary to seal the range of the opening portion wider than that of the supply / recovery integrated method with the seal member. In general, the wider the sealing range, the lower the sealing safety.

  Therefore, in the above-described supply / recovery separation type developing device, a box-shaped initial developer container for hermetically sealing the initial developer is provided above the developing device. Then, a seal member is affixed to the seal affixing base surface provided at the opening edge of the initial developer container, and a pull-out member that holds the seal member is projected outside the apparatus so that the seal member can be pulled out from the outside. Yes. By pulling out the pull-out member in parallel along the axial direction of the developer carrying member, the seal member is peeled off from the seal attachment base surface to open the initial developer container, and the initial developer in the initial developer container Is dropped into the developing unit.

However, installing the initial developer container above the developing unit is disadvantageous in terms of downsizing because the apparatus becomes large in the height direction. Miniaturization is expected. In general, a developer transport member is disposed in the developer supply transport path and the developer recovery transport path to transport the developer. These developer conveying members are composed of a rotation shaft and a blade member such as a screw formed around the rotation shaft, and are driven to rotate by a drive transmission means such as a drive gear connected to the rotation shaft from the outside of the developing device. . As described above, in order to pull out the seal member and the pull-out member in parallel with the axial direction of the transport member, the seal member and the pull-out member are installed avoiding the drive transmission means installed on the side wall surface of the apparatus. That is, the height of the initial developer accommodating portion is determined by the positions of the seal member and the drawing member and the required initial developer amount.

Further, in general, in the configuration of the developing device in which the initial developer container is installed, since the initial developer in the initial developer container is dropped by its own weight, the initial developer container even after the seal member is pulled out. In some cases, the initial developer that was in a slow aggregation state during storage could remain without falling.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an integrated supply and recovery system that can reduce the size of the apparatus and can reliably drop the initial developer in the initial developer container. A developing device, and a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus using the developing device are provided.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a developing device including a toner and a carrier, which is disposed in a developing device having an opening formed toward the image carrier and is partially exposed from the opening. A developer carrying member carrying the developer, a developer regulating member regulating the amount of developer carried on the developer carrying member, and supplying the developer to the developer carrying member formed in the developing device. A developer supply transport path in which a developer supply member is disposed, a developer recovery transport path in which a developer recovery member that is formed in the developer and collects the developer from the developer carrier is disposed, and initial development An initial developer container that has an opening that is disposed above the developing unit to communicate with the developer and communicates with the developing unit ; a seal member that seals an edge of the opening of the initial developer container; and One end is connected to the developing device and the initial display in order to hold the seal member and pull out the seal member. In the developing device and a withdrawal member protruding to the outside from between the agent container, the edge of the opening, and a horizontal plane extending in the horizontal direction parallel to the axial direction of the developer supplying member, obliquely from above the horizontal plane And an inclined surface inclined upward,
The removal member, said sealing member is pulled out along the inclined surface obliquely upward in contact with the developing agent supplying member, the driving gear of the developer supply member is Ru avoided on the extension of the inclined surface It is characterized by being installed as follows.

  The present invention relates to a supply / collection-integrated developing device capable of downsizing the apparatus and reliably dropping the initial developer in the initial developer container, and a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus using the same. There is an excellent effect that can be provided.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus. Sectional drawing explaining a structure when the image development apparatus of the image forming apparatus is cut | disconnected along the axial direction of a supply screw and a collection | recovery screw. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing an internal configuration of a developing device of the image forming apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tandem color image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit 2 disposed substantially at the center of the apparatus main body 1 and a sheet-like recording medium disposed below the image forming unit 2. A paper feed unit 20 that feeds the paper S. Further, the image forming apparatus fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper S in the image forming unit 2, and directs the paper S sent out by the fixing unit 15 to the stacking unit 26 at the upper part of the apparatus main body 1. A paper discharge unit 27 is provided.

  The image forming unit 2 includes image forming units 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d that form toner images of different colors on the photoreceptors 3a to 3d that are image carriers that rotate in the clockwise direction in the drawing. Yes. In the illustrated image forming units 2a to 2d, a yellow toner image, a cyan toner image, a magenta toner image, and a black toner image are formed on the photoreceptors 3a to 3d, respectively.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming unit 2 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the image forming unit. Since the image forming units 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d have the same configuration except for different toner colors, the subscripts a, b, c, and d are omitted in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each image forming unit 2 develops an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 3, a charging device 4 that uniformly charges the photoreceptor 3 around the photoreceptor 3. A developing device 5 for forming a toner image, a transfer roller 6 for transferring the toner image on the photoconductor 3, a cleaning device 7 for removing transfer residual toner on the photoconductor 3 after transfer, and the like are provided. The charging device 4 includes a charging roller 41 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive member 3 to which a charging bias is applied from a power source (not shown), and a charging roller cleaning member 42 that removes deposits on the surface of the charging roller 41. Yes. A space adjacent to the charging device 4 on the downstream side in the moving direction of the photoconductor is an optical path space X in which exposure by the optical scanning device (LSU) 8 is performed. The optical scanning device 8 irradiates the surface of the photoreceptor 3 uniformly charged by the charging device 4 with laser light corresponding to image information to form an electrostatic latent image. As will be described later, the developing device 5 accommodates a two-component developer composed of toner and carrier in a developing casing 50 as a developing device, and supplies toner to a latent image on the photosensitive member 3 for development. Etc. Above the developing device 5, a cylindrical toner container 30 and a toner replenishing mechanism 31 are disposed, and the toner replenishing mechanism 31 is driven according to toner consumption in the developing device 5, and toner is supplied from the toner container 30 to the developing device 5. Is supplied. Further, the cleaning device 7 includes a cleaning blade 71 that removes deposits such as residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 3, and a lubricant application brush that scrapes the solid lubricant 72 and applies a lubricant onto the surface of the photoreceptor 3. 73. In addition, the cleaning device 7 includes a waste toner collecting screw 74 that conveys adhered matter such as residual toner removed by the cleaning blade 71 to a waste toner storage unit (not shown).

An intermediate transfer belt 10 configured as an intermediate transfer member is disposed below the photosensitive members 3a to 3d. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is stretched around a drive roller 11 and a support roller 12 and is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Transfer rollers 6 a to 6 d are installed at positions facing the photoconductors 3 a to 3 d so as to sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 10, and a primary transfer in which a toner image on the photoconductor 3 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10. The part is formed. A secondary transfer roller 13 is installed at a position facing the support roller 12 so as to sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 10, and a secondary transfer portion where the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is transferred to the paper S is formed. Has been. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is provided with a cleaning device 14 for removing toner remaining on the surface thereof. As this intermediate transfer member, a drum-shaped intermediate transfer member can also be used.

In the image forming unit 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive member 2 and the charging device 3, the developing device 5, and the cleaning device 7 disposed around the photosensitive member 2 are shared as one unit. It is configured as a process cartridge supported by a support and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. A toner container 30, a toner supply mechanism 31, and image forming units (process cartridges) 2a to 2d are integrally attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body.

A fixing unit 15 disposed on the upper right side in FIG. 1 of the image forming unit 2 includes a fixing roller 16, a fixing belt 17 wound around the fixing roller 16, and a pressure contacted with the fixing roller 16 via the fixing belt 17. And a roller 18. The fixing unit 15 is not limited to the above-described one, and a roller type with a built-in heater and a heating method using IH can be appropriately employed.

  A paper feed unit 20 disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 10 of the image forming unit 2 includes a paper feed tray 21 on which sheets S as sheet-like recording media are stacked. Further, the paper feed tray 21 is provided with a paper feed roller 22 for feeding the paper S stacked on the paper feed tray 21 and a friction pad 23 as a separating means for separating the multi-fed paper into one sheet. The paper feeding unit 20 also includes a registration roller pair 24 that feeds the paper S to the secondary transfer unit at a predetermined timing, a re-conveying path 25 that is used when double-sided images are formed, and the like. Here, the sheet-like recording medium includes, for example, coated paper (coated paper, art paper, etc.) in addition to paper (including thick paper, postcard, envelope, plain paper, thin paper, etc.) such as transfer paper and recording paper. ), An image forming medium capable of image transfer, such as an OHP sheet, an OHP film, or tracing paper.

  When image formation is started in such an image forming apparatus, the photoreceptor 3a is rotated in the clockwise direction in the figure, and at this time, the surface of the photoreceptor 3 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging device 4a. Next, the charged surface is irradiated with laser light based on image information from the optical scanning device 8, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 3 a. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 3a is visualized as a yellow toner image by the developing device 5a, and the yellow toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the transfer roller 6a.

  At the time of full color image formation, the image forming operation described above is performed in the same manner in all the remaining image forming units 2b to 2d, whereby the yellow toner image, cyan toner image, and magenta toner respectively formed on the respective photoreceptors 3a to 3d. An image and a black toner image are formed. The toner images formed on the photoreceptors 3a to 3d are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 by a transfer electric field or nip pressure at the primary transfer portion. On the other hand, the paper S fed from the paper supply unit 20 is sent out toward the registration roller 24 and is once abutted against the registration roller 24 whose leading end is stopped. This corrects and aligns the oblique displacement of the leading edge of the paper S. The registration roller 24 resumes rotation at a predetermined timing such that the color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 10 matches the leading edge of the sheet S at the secondary transfer portion provided with the secondary transfer roller 13. Then, the sheet S is sent out toward the secondary transfer portion.

  The sheet S on which the unfixed color toner image is transferred in the secondary transfer unit is sent to the fixing unit 15, and the unfixed color toner image is fixed by heating and pressing by the fixing unit 15. The sheet S on which the color toner image is fixed is discharged and discharged with the image surface facing downward (face-down) onto the sheet stacking portion 26 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1 by the discharge roller pair of the sheet discharge portion 27. Paper. Transfer residual toner or the like adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 after the color toner image is transferred is removed by the belt cleaning device 14 to prepare for the next image formation / transfer process. When an image is formed on the back surface of the paper P, the paper S that has passed through the fixing unit 15 is sent to the re-conveying path 25, and the above-described image forming / transfer process is repeated.

  Next, the configuration of the developing device 5 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration when the developing device is cut along the axial direction of the supply screw and the recovery screw. As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 5 is disposed so as to be partially exposed from the opening of the developing housing 50 and face the photoreceptor 3, and has a developing roller 51 that carries the developer on the surface and moves on the surface. And a doctor blade 52 that is a developer regulating member that regulates the amount of developer carried on the developing roller 51. In the developing roller 51, a magnet roller that generates a magnetic field is fixedly disposed in a rotatable developing sleeve made of a nonmagnetic material. In the development housing 50, a supply conveyance path 53 and a collection conveyance path 54 are arranged vertically at a position facing the development roller 51. In the supply conveyance path 53, a supply conveyance screw 55, which is a developer supply member that conveys the developer along the axial direction of the developing roller 51 while supplying the developer, is rotatably held. In the collection conveyance path 54, a collection conveyance screw 56, which is a developer collection member that conveys the developer in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the supply conveyance screw 55 while rotating the developer after development on the developing roller 51, rotates. Held possible. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the supply conveyance path 53 and the collection conveyance path 54 are spatially partitioned by a partition wall 57 and are agent drop openings that are openings provided at both ends in the axial direction of the partition wall 57. And 58 and the agent raising port 59. The agent dropping port 58 includes a downstream end (hereinafter simply referred to as downstream) of the supply transport path 53 in the developer transport direction and an upstream end (hereinafter simply referred to as upstream) of the recovery transport path 54 in the developer transport direction. It becomes the communication port of. The agent raising port 59 serves as a communication port between the downstream end of the collection conveyance path 54 and the upstream end of the supply conveyance path 53. Further, a toner density sensor 60 is disposed at the downstream end portion of the collection conveyance path 54 so as to face the outside of the developing casing 50. The toner concentration sensor 60 can magnetically detect the toner concentration of the developer at the downstream end in the collection conveyance path 54.

  In the developing device 5 configured as described above, the developer in the supply conveyance path 53 is sprinkled on the development roller 51 by the rotation of the supply screw 55, and the developer is carried and conveyed on the surface of the development roller 51. The developer carried and transported on the surface of the developing roller 51 is transported to the developing region facing the photoreceptor 3 with the layer thickness being regulated by a doctor gap, which is a clearance between the doctor blade 52 and the developing roller 51. . A developing bias is applied to the developing roller (developing sleeve) 51. In the developing region, the toner on the developing roller 51 is selectively transferred to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 3 by the action of the applied developing bias. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed. The developer on the developing roller 51 after passing through the developing region is collected in the collection conveyance path 54 and conveyed in the opposite direction to the developer in the supply conveyance path 53 by the rotation of the collection screw 56. Of the developer in the supply conveyance path 53, the developer that has not been supplied to the developing roller 51 and has been conveyed to the downstream end of the supply conveyance path 53 is delivered from the agent dropping port 58 to the recovery conveyance path 54.

Further, the toner in the toner container 30 is supplied to the toner supply port 32 via the toner supply mechanism 31 according to the detection result of the toner density sensor 60. The toner replenished from the toner replenishing port 32 is transferred from the agent dropping port 58 to the recovery conveying path 54 together with the developer that has reached the downstream end of the supply conveying path 53. The collection screw 56 in the collection conveyance path 54 conveys the developer in the axial direction, and deposits the developer in the collection conveyance path 54 near the downstream end thereof. The toner density rises again due to the toner supplied from the toner supply port 32, and the developer deposited at the downstream end of the collection conveyance path 54 is transferred to the upper supply conveyance path 53 via the agent rise port 59. It is. Then, the developer delivered to the supply conveyance path 53 is supplied to the developing roller 51 while being conveyed in the axial direction by the rotation of the supply screw 55.

  By the way, the developing device 5 includes a substantially box-shaped initial developer container 61 above the supply conveyance path 53. At the time of presetting (when not in use), the developer is not accommodated in the developing casing 50, and the initial developer is hermetically sealed in the initial developer container 61. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing the configuration of the developing device. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the initial developer container 61 has a large opening at the lower portion and communicates with the developing casing 50 (supply conveyance path 53). The opening is sealed with a single sheet-like heat seal 62, and the initial developer is hermetically sealed therein. At the start of use, the drawing member 63 of the heat seal member 62 is pulled out from the front side of the apparatus main body, thereby opening the opening of the initial developer container 61 and removing the initial developer in the initial developer container 61. Drop into the developing casing 50.

  The heat seal 62 is integrally formed with the pull-out member 63 and is opened so that the position of the back side of the apparatus main body (the left end portion in FIG. 3) is the peeling start position. It is bonded to a seal sticking pedestal surface provided at the edge in an easily peelable state. As the bonding method, thermocompression bonding is preferable from the viewpoint of hermeticity. One end of the pull-out member 63 protrudes from between the developing casing 50 and the initial developer container 61 on the front side of the main body (right end in FIG. 3), and can be pulled out by the user. ing. Thereby, the sealing property when the heat seal 62 is stuck to the opening of the initial developer container 61 and the operability when the heat seal 62 is pulled out from the developing device 5 by the pulling member 63 are ensured. In an image forming apparatus configured to release the front of the apparatus main body, the image forming apparatus can be pulled out with the developing device (process cartridge) set in the main body. Further, the heat seal 62 may be formed by integrally molding a seal member that seals the opening and a pull-out member for pulling out while peeling off the seal member, or a seal member provided with a pull-out member. From the viewpoint of certainty at the time of extraction, it is preferable that the sealing member and the extraction member are integrally molded into a sheet shape, and one end is formed as the extraction member 63.

  Here, the sticker mounting base surface provided at the opening edge of the initial developer container 61 extends in a substantially horizontal direction parallel to the axial direction of the supply screw 55, but the front side of the apparatus main body (FIG. 3). In order to project the pull-out member 63 obliquely upward in the middle left), as shown by a symbol Y in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the entire heat seal 62 that closes the opening is at the position indicated by the solid line in the figure, but the position at which the extraction member 63 protrudes on the front side of the apparatus main body is indicated by the alternate long and short dashed line in the figure. It becomes higher than the position shown by the solid line in the previous figure.

  In general, a drive gear 64 or the like for driving the supply screw 55 is installed on the side wall surface of the developing casing 50 in front of the apparatus main body. Therefore, if the extraction member 63 is to be extracted in the horizontal direction with respect to the axial direction of the developing roller 51, the seal member 62 and the extraction member 63 must be installed at the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. I didn't. On the other hand, in the developing device 5 according to the present embodiment, the heat seal 62 lowers the overall height of the sticking pedestal surface as shown by the solid line in the drawing, and the pull-out member 63 is placed on the front side of the main body. The height of the protrusion is increased as shown by the dotted line in the figure. As a result, the initial developer container 61 has a capacity for accommodating the initial developer as compared with the case where the heat seal 62 is installed at the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line and the extraction member 63 is extracted in the horizontal direction. You can earn. That is, in the developing device 5 according to the present embodiment, when a predetermined amount of the initial developer is stored in the initial developer container 61, as compared with the configuration in which the pulling member 63 is pulled out in the horizontal direction, the dotted line in FIG. The height of the initial developer container 61 can be reduced by the amount obtained by subtracting the height indicated by the solid line in FIG. 4 from the indicated height. In general, a drive gear train is also arranged on the rear side of the apparatus main body of the developing casing 50 (right side in FIG. 3) to drive the developing roller 51 and the like. For this reason, it is difficult to horizontally pull out the heat seal 62 and the pulling member 63 at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.

Further, in the developing device 5 configured in this way, the heat seal 62 and the extraction member 63 are extracted obliquely upward by the user. Therefore, the heat seal 62 and the extraction member 63 move while contacting the screw portion of the supply screw 55, and the vibration of the heat seal 62 and the extraction member 63 at that time is transmitted to the initial developer in the initial developer container 61. As a result, even when the developer in the initial developer container 61 is in a slowly aggregated state in the storage state, vibration at the time of pulling out the heat seal 62 can be transmitted and the aggregated state can be destroyed. It is possible to prevent the developer from remaining in the initial developer container 61 after being pulled out.

The supply / recovery separation type developing device according to the present embodiment connects the downstream side of the developer supply transport path and the upstream side of the developer recovery transport path, and the developer transport direction of the developer supply transport path. The upstream side and the downstream side of the developer recovery transport path are connected, and the developer transport directions in the developer supply transport path and the developer recovery transport path are opposite to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and may be a supply / recovery separation type developing device provided with another conveyance path. For example, the downstream side of the developer supply conveyance path, the downstream side of the developer recovery conveyance path, and the upstream end of another conveyance path are connected, and the downstream side of the other conveyance path and the developer supply conveyance path There may be a configuration in which a circulation conveyance path connected to the upstream side is provided, and the developer conveyance directions in the developer supply conveyance path and the developer recovery conveyance path are the same.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
Arranged in a developing unit such as a developing casing 50 having an opening formed toward an image carrier such as the photosensitive member 2, a part of the opening is exposed to carry a developer including toner and a carrier. A developer carrying member such as the developing roller 51; a developer regulating member such as a doctor blade 52 for regulating the amount of developer carried on the developer carrying member; and the developer carrying member formed in the developing unit. A developer supply conveyance path such as a supply conveyance path 53 in which a developer supply member such as a supply screw 55 for supplying developer is disposed, and a developer formed on the developer carrying member formed in the developing device is collected. A developer collecting / conveying path such as a collecting / conveying path 54 in which a developer collecting member such as a collecting screw 56 to be disposed is disposed, and an opening that is disposed above the developing unit and communicates with the developing unit so as to accommodate the initial developer Initial developer containing 61, an initial developer container, a seal member such as a heat seal 62 that seals the opening of the initial developer container, and one end of the developer container to hold the seal member and pull out the seal member. In a developing device including a drawing member such as a drawing member 63 protruding to the outside from between the initial developer containers, the drawing member is installed to be drawn obliquely upward.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the extraction member is extracted obliquely upward, so that the installation height of the seal member can be lowered and the volume of the initial developer container can be increased. That is, when a predetermined amount of initial developer is accommodated, the height of the initial developer container can be reduced by that amount, and the apparatus can be downsized in the height direction. Further, as described above, by pulling the pullout member obliquely upward, the seal member and the developer supply member can be brought into contact with each other to vibrate the developer in the initial developer container. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the developer from remaining in the initial developer container after pulling out the seal, and it is possible to reliably supply the developer into the developer and to perform a stable operation.
(Aspect B)
An image carrier such as a photoconductor 3 that carries an image, a charging unit such as a charging device 4 that uniformly charges the image carrier, and a developing unit such as a developing device 5 that develops a latent image on the image carrier. And at least one selected from the image carrier, the charging unit, and the cleaning unit, and an image forming apparatus including a cleaning unit such as a cleaning device 7 that cleans residual toner remaining on the image carrier. The developing device according to claim 1 is used as the developing means in a process cartridge which is integrated with the developing means and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size of the process cartridge and stabilize the operation.
(Aspect C)
An image carrier such as the photosensitive member 3; a latent image forming unit such as an optical scanning device 8 that forms a latent image on the image carrier; and a developing device 5 that develops the latent image on the latent image carrier. The image forming apparatus includes the developing device according to claim 1 as the developing unit. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus main body and stabilize the operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Image formation part 3 Photoconductor 4 Charging apparatus 5 Developing apparatus 6 Transfer roller 7 Cleaning apparatus 8 Optical scanning apparatus 50 Developing casing 51 Developing roller 52 Doctor blade 53 Supply conveyance path 54 Collection conveyance path 55 Supply screw 56 Collection screw 61 Initial developer container 62 Heat seal 63 Pull-out part

JP 2005-189423 A

Claims (3)

A developer carrier that is disposed in a developing device having an opening formed toward the image carrier, and that carries a developer including a toner and a carrier by exposing a part of the opening;
A developer regulating member that regulates the amount of developer carried on the developer carrying body;
A developer supply conveyance path in which a developer supply member that is formed in the developing unit and supplies the developer to the developer carrier is disposed;
A developer recovery conveyance path in which a developer recovery member that is formed in the developer and recovers the developer from the developer carrier is disposed;
An initial developer container having an opening disposed above the developing unit and communicating with the developing unit to store the initial developer;
A seal member for sealing the edge of the opening of the initial developer container;
In a developing device comprising a pull-out member that holds the seal member and has one end protruding outward from between the developing unit and the initial developer container in order to pull out the seal member.
The edge of the opening has a horizontal plane extending in a horizontal direction parallel to the axial direction of the developer supply member, and an inclined surface inclined obliquely upward from the horizontal plane.
The removal member, said sealing member is pulled out along the inclined surface obliquely upward in contact with the developing agent supplying member, the driving gear of the developer supply member is Ru avoided on the extension of the inclined surface A developing device that is installed as described above. An image carrier that carries an image, a charging unit that uniformly charges the image carrier, a developing unit that develops a latent image on the image carrier, and a transfer residual toner remaining on the image carrier are cleaned. And at least one selected from the image carrier, the charging unit, and the cleaning unit, and the developing unit, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. In the configured process cartridge,
A process cartridge using the developing device according to claim 1 as the developing means. An image carrier;
Latent image forming means for forming a latent image on the image carrier;
In an image forming apparatus comprising: a developing unit that develops a latent image on the latent image carrier.
An image forming apparatus comprising the developing device according to claim 1 as the developing means.

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